DOCSLIB.ORG

Effectiveness of the Strategies Implemented in Sri Lanka For

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Effectiveness of the Strategies Implemented in Sri Lanka For medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.27.20082479; this version posted September 8, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . Effectiveness of the strategies implemented in Sri Lanka for controlling the COVID{19 outbreak K.K.W.H. Erandia1, A.C. Mahasingheb1, S.S.N. Pererac1, and S. Jayasinghed2 1 Centre for Mathematical Modelling, University of Colombo,Colombo 03, Sri Lanka 2 Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka a [email protected]; b [email protected]; c [email protected]; d [email protected] Abstract. In order to bring the new coronavirus pandemic in the country under control, the government of Sri Lanka implemented a set of control strategies including social distancing, quarantine, lockdowns, travel restrictions and isolation of villages. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the overall control process with the aid of classical compartment models and network models. Our results indicate that the prevailing control strategies are effective with at least 50% contact rate reduction or with at least 40% isolation of the contact history of infected population. 1 Introduction An outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID{19) was reported from Wuhan province, China in December 2019 [8,20], causing numerous deaths and complications such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome [9,16,21]. The infection rapidly spread to all parts of the globe and was declared a pandemic on 11th March 2020 by the World Health Organization [14]. Sri Lanka reported the first case in a Chinese tourist on 27th January 2020 and subsequently in a local person on 11th March, 2020 [19]. Aimed at controlling the pandemic, the government enforced a strict strategy of case detection, identification of contacts, quarantine, travel restrictions and isolation of small villages as well, changing the strategy in a timely manner, that has so far been successful in confining the epidemic to 2,810 cases as of 29th July 2020 and no community case was reported in the country since 30th April 2020. Figure 1 shows the variation of total cases and new cases reported up to 29th July 2020. I 3000 Total Cases 2500 New Cases 2000 1500 1000 500 0 11−Mar 20−Mar 31−Mar 10−Apr 20−Apr 30−Apr 10−May 20−May 30−May 10−Jun 20−Jun 30−Jul 10−Jul 20−Jul Time (days) Fig. 1: Reported COVID{19 cases from 11th March 2020 to 29th July 2020, Sri Lanka (Source: Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka) NOTE: This preprint reports new research that has not been certified by peer review and should not be used to guide clinical practice. medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.27.20082479; this version posted September 8, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . 2 K.K.W.H. Erandi, A.C. Mahasinghe, S.S.N. Perera, and S. Jayasinghe Though some attention has been paid to other control measures such as spray- ing disinfectants, aimed at destroying the virus, the major control strategies imple- mented in Sri Lanka was aimed at minimizing the human movement. It is noteworthy that this was not a strategy used in the country even during the multiple epidemics of dengue, though others have long exercised restricting the mobility to control in- fectious diseases [2]. However, with the emergence of the COVID{19 outbreak, strict measures were taken to minimize human mobility. On 20th March, a nationwide cur- few was imposed till 24th March and it was further extended together with a strict ban on inter{district travel. The curfew was a legal mechanism available to the newly elected government since parliament had been dissolved pending an election. Three populous districts of, Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha were identified as high-risk zones. The main intention of the curfew was to implement a lockdown and mini- mize contacts with infected individuals, and thereby reduce the growth rate of the epidemic. Entry of the virus to the island{nation was curtailed by closure of the airport and the ports together with the curfew. Extensive tracing was done of recent returnees from overseas (especially from China, Italy and South Korea) [17]. Identified patients were transferred to designated infectious disease hospitals and potential contacts to more than 40 quarantine centres, which were developed within a very short period and opened by the Ministry of Defense. In addition, on 21st April 2020, the gov- ernment began repatriating citizens stranded abroad and quarantine them for two weeks time period. In another example of quarantine, a whole village was sealed and quarantined in that location because an identified patient was found to have moved around 26 households in a circumscribed village. Entry and exit from the village was banned and they received free supplies and other amenities at the border. Starting from 26th March more than 16 villages or defined small urban areas were sealed for 2{4 weeks in the country to control the spread of the disease. Moreover, on 22st April 2020, a sailor from Welisara Navy camp was identified as a COVID{19 positive patient and immediately the camp was quarantined with 4,000 people at the Navy Camp. Since many sailors were on leave when contracted the disease, more than 6 villages were sealed off and around 1,300 people have been asked to self-quarantine. Considering the progress of the control measures and the impact of the strict curfew to the economy of the country, the government has announced on 19th April 2020 its decision to relax the nationwide curfew, and to implement moderated travel restrictions by permitting inter{district travels only to report for work and for es- sential services purposes. Further, on 11th May 2020 the government had ordered partial opening of offices and businesses and the restrictions were further relaxed with a new set of rules. For an example, wearing a mask is mandatory in indoor and outdoor public spaces and public transport. The police and army personnel has been empowered to carefully scrutinize whether citizens are obeying with the rules. Moreover, the sanitary measures such as having wash basins and sanitizes outside the groceries and supermarket for customers has been made compulsory and the supermarkets were instructed to use thermometers to check the temperatures of the customers before they enter the premises. The distances are marked in the counter queues to minimize the close contacts. Schools however started academic activities only for grade 5, 11 and 13 on 6th June and universities will continue online teaching and learning until further notice. medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.27.20082479; this version posted September 8, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . Effectiveness of the strategies implemented in Sri Lanka for controlling the COVID{19 outbreak 3 Almost all control strategies implemented in Sri Lanka were aimed at minimizing the human mobility, both the imposition and the relaxation of the curfew could be interpreted as changing the mobility rates in a certain way. From a policy perspec- tive, it is relevant to know the extent of mobility that would be optimum to control the pandemic. This could be supported by reviewing the impact of mobility restric- tions on the pattern of 254 reported cases up to 19th April 2020 and comparing with the current situation. This would include the effects of curfew in some regions on other regions. In order to review the impact of the control strategies implemented so far, we used the classical compartment models in epidemiology to model the transmission of COVID{19 in the three main districts. The restrictions imposed of human move- ment were incorporated by moderating the compartment model accordingly, by parametrizing contact rate and adding inter{district travel. Then we investigated the impact of relaxing the curfew by considering how the disease could be transmit- ted through the epidemiological network created by inter{regional transport. 2 Materials and Methods In order to examine the transmission of the COVID{19, we adopted the Susceptible{ Exposed{Infectious{Recovered (SEIR) model [1] with control measures applied to the high{risk zones in the country. Since the incubation period for the disease is 2{14 days as reported, there is a high possibility of transmission prior to the onset of symptoms and without showing symptoms [10], which justifies the adoption of the SEIR model. In the classical SEIR model, a population of size Ni in the ith region is divided into susceptible (Si), exposed (Ei), infected (Ii) and recovered (Ri) components. We extended the model by including an extra compartment as hospitalized (Hi). This included all those entering hospitals and quarantine centers. The susceptible class consists of individuals who can possibly get infected by the disease. If the susceptible person is exposed to the virus, the individual is moved to the exposed compartment at the rate of βi. Let α be the transition rate of the exposed individuals to the infected class.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Spatial Hierarchical Analysis of the Temporal Influences of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Weather on Dengue in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka
    http://www.diva-portal.org This is the published version of a paper published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Citation for the original published paper (version of record): Liyanage, P., Tissera, H., Sewe, M., Quam, M., Amarasinghe, A. et al. (2016) A Spatial Hierarchical Analysis of the Temporal Influences of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Weather on Dengue in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(11): 1087 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13111087 Access to the published version may require subscription. N.B. When citing this work, cite the original published paper. Permanent link to this version: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-127286 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article A Spatial Hierarchical Analysis of the Temporal Influences of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Weather on Dengue in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka Prasad Liyanage 1,2,*, Hasitha Tissera 1, Maquins Sewe 2,3, Mikkel Quam 2, Ananda Amarasinghe 1, Paba Palihawadana 1, Annelies Wilder-Smith 2,4, Valéerie R. Louis 5, Yesim Tozan 6 and Joacim Rocklöv 2 1 Ministry of Health, Colombo 01000, Sri Lanka; [email protected] (H.T.); [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (P.P.) 2 Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden; [email protected] (M.S.); [email protected] (M.Q.); [email protected] (A.W.-S.); [email protected] (J.R.) 3 KEMRI Centre for Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya, Box 1578, Kisumu 40100, Kenya 4 Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, Singapore 5 Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg Medical School, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; [email protected] 6 College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Academic Editor: Jan C.
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka 2015 International Religious Freedom Report
    SRI LANKA 2015 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT Executive Summary The constitution states every person is “entitled to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.” It gives citizens the right to manifest their religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, or teaching both in public and in private. The constitution and other laws give Buddhism “foremost place” and commit the government to protecting it. Civil society organizations such as the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Center for Human Rights and Research, and others said the new government, which took office in January, pursued an agenda including a renewed commitment to the rule of law and willingness to investigate and prosecute state officials implicated in or responsible for inciting past religiously based violence. There were instances, however, in which local police and local government officials appeared to act in concert with Buddhist nationalist organizations, although not to the extent as previously. For example, police continued to cite outdated government circulars restricting the construction of religious facilities in attempts to force churches to cease operations. In multiple instances, police reportedly failed to respond or were reluctant to arrest or pursue criminal cases against individuals instigating attacks on minority religious sites. CPA noted in its “Advocacy Brief – Human Rights Violations and Surveillance in Sri Lanka,” which covered the period from January to September (hereafter CPA Brief), the government had not yet prosecuted hardline Buddhist monks involved in attacks in 2014 against Muslims and Christians. Parliament’s passage of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act in February strengthened safeguards for persons involved in legal actions against criminal perpetrators implicated in attacks upon religious sites.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER 4 Perspective of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1 Identification of the Colombo Metropolitan Area
    Urban Transport System Development Project for Colombo Metropolitan Region and Suburbs CoMTrans UrbanTransport Master Plan Final Report CHAPTER 4 Perspective of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1 Identification of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1.1 Definition The Western Province is the most developed province in Sri Lanka and is where the administrative functions and economic activities are concentrated. At the same time, forestry and agricultural lands still remain, mainly in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the province. And also, there are some local urban centres which are less dependent on Colombo. These areas have less relation with the centre of Colombo. The Colombo Metropolitan Area is defined in order to analyse and assess future transport demands and formulate a master plan. For this purpose, Colombo Metropolitan Area is defined by: A) areas that are already urbanised and those to be urbanised by 2035, and B) areas that are dependent on Colombo. In an urbanised area, urban activities, which are mainly commercial and business activities, are active and it is assumed that demand for transport is high. People living in areas dependent on Colombo area assumed to travel to Colombo by some transport measures. 4.1.2 Factors to Consider for Future Urban Structures In order to identify the CMA, the following factors are considered. These factors will also define the urban structure, which is described in Section 4.3. An effective transport network will be proposed based on the urban structure as well as the traffic demand. At the same time, the new transport network proposed will affect the urban structure and lead to urban development.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial Variability of Rainfall Trends in Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2019 As an Indication of Climate Change
    International Journal of Geo-Information Article Spatial Variability of Rainfall Trends in Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2019 as an Indication of Climate Change Niranga Alahacoon 1,2,* and Mahesh Edirisinghe 1 1 Department of Physics, University of Colombo, Colombo 00300, Sri Lanka; [email protected] 2 International Water Management Institute (IWMI), 127, Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatte, Colombo 10120, Sri Lanka * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Analysis of long-term rainfall trends provides a wealth of information on effective crop planning and water resource management, and a better understanding of climate variability over time. This study reveals the spatial variability of rainfall trends in Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2019 as an indication of climate change. The exclusivity of the study is the use of rainfall data that provide spatial variability instead of the traditional location-based approach. Henceforth, daily rainfall data available at Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation corrected with stations (CHIRPS) data were used for this study. The geographic information system (GIS) is used to perform spatial data analysis on both vector and raster data. Sen’s slope estimator and the Mann–Kendall (M–K) test are used to investigate the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall throughout all districts and climatic zones of Sri Lanka. The most important thing reflected in this study is that there has been a significant increase in annual rainfall from 1989 to 2019 in all climatic zones (wet, dry, intermediate, and Semi-arid) of Sri Lanka. The maximum increase is recorded in the wet zone and the minimum increase is in the semi-arid zone.
    [Show full text]
  • Wattala- Mabole Urban Council
    UNDP / UN-Habitat - Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) Sustainable (Sri Lankan) Cities Programme (SCCP II) PROFILE Wattala- Mabole Urban Council March 2002 • UN-Habitat (SCP) • Government of Sri Lanka (Western Provincial Council) • Wattala Urban Council • SEVANATHA – Urban Resource Centre (Local Partner Institution) City Profile – Wattala Mabole Urban Council Introduction This city profile was prepared as part of the requirement of the Sustainable (Sri Lankan) Cities Programme (SCCP II) which is being implemented in the Colombo urban area during the time period of 2001 – 2002 involving eight urban local authorities (i.e. Colombo Municipal Council, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council, Dehiwala Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council, Moratuwa Municipal Council, Negambo Municipal Council, Kolonnawa Urban Council, Wattala Mabole Urban Council and Panadura Urban Council). The primary purpose of preparation of a city profile is to understand the current status of environmental resources in the city, the development activities and the nature of interaction between these two factors. It is neither scientific investigation nor a high profile technical report but it is a simple document, which tries to highlight the current problems relating to city development in the concerned area. It also emphasizes on a participatory decision making process to solve the identified problems in the city. This city profile can be further updated and improved continuously whereby the local authority staff would be able to improve their skills in preparing documents such as these, which are essential for decision making at city level and influencing the policy making authorities above them. In this context, this city profile may be considered as a first step towards developing a proper database for Wattala Mabole town supporting towards better management of its future development activities.
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study of Kalutara District, Sri Lanka K
    KDU Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (KJMS) Volume 1. Issue1, 2017 KJMS 2017 VOL.1 (1): 34-47 RECENT CHANGES IN POPULATION AND ITS IMPACT ON USAGE OF DRINKING WATER SOURCES IN HOUSEHOLDS: A CASE STUDY OF KALUTARA DISTRICT, SRI LANKA K. K. E. Perera [email protected] Computer Teaching Unit, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka ABSTRACT The major problem that arises with the rapid growth of population is whether it is possible to fulfil basic requirements of human beings such as food, water, shelter and air (De Silva, 2007). Especially, drinking water is a basic need of human life and in fact an essential component in primary healthcare and poverty alleviation (Amponsah, Aidam and Senadza, 2009). However, the growing intensity of population and development activities create tremendous pressure on available water resources. Therefore, it is essential to understand the relationships among a full range of population characteristics such as the size, growth, distribution, and density of population, total households and the usage of water sources. With this brief background, the aim of this paper is to identify the recent changes in population and its impact on the usage of drinking water sources in households in Kalutara district during the period of 2001-2012. Towards achieving this aim, population and households data on sources of drinking water was obtained from the reports of Census of Population and Housing in 2001 and 2012. The data were analyzed using thematic maps and correlation analyses. Accordingly, the highest population and population density were recorded in the west coast while the lowest were in rural areas and there was an increase both spatially and temporally.
    [Show full text]
  • A Forecasting Model for Dengue Incidence in the District of Gampaha, Sri Lanka Gayan P
    Withanage et al. Parasites & Vectors (2018) 11:262 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2828-2 RESEARCH Open Access A forecasting model for dengue incidence in the District of Gampaha, Sri Lanka Gayan P. Withanage1, Sameera D. Viswakula2, Y. I. Nilmini Silva Gunawardena1 and Menaka D. Hapugoda1* Abstract Background: Dengue is one of the major health problems in Sri Lanka causing an enormous social and economic burden to the country. An accurate early warning system can enhance the efficiency of preventive measures. The aim of the study was to develop and validate a simple accurate forecasting model for the District of Gampaha, Sri Lanka. Three time-series regression models were developed using monthly rainfall, rainy days, temperature, humidity, wind speed and retrospective dengue incidences over the period January 2012 to November 2015 for the District of Gampaha, Sri Lanka. Various lag times were analyzed to identify optimum forecasting periods including interactions of multiple lags. The models were validated using epidemiological data from December 2015 to November 2017. Prepared models were compared based on Akaike’s information criterion, Bayesian information criterion and residual analysis. Results: The selected model forecasted correctly with mean absolute errors of 0.07 and 0.22, and root mean squared errors of 0.09 and 0.28, for training and validation periods, respectively. There were no dengue epidemics observed in the district during the training period and nine outbreaks occurred during the forecasting period. The proposed model captured five outbreaks and correctly rejected 14 within the testing period of 24 months. The Pierce skill score of the model was 0.49, with a receiver operating characteristic of 86% and 92% sensitivity.
    [Show full text]
  • Forecasting Homicides, Rapes and Counterfeiting Currency: a Case Study in Sri Lanka
    Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal Research Article Open Access Forecasting homicides, rapes and counterfeiting currency: A case study in Sri Lanka Abstract Volume 9 Issue 6 - 2020 Crimes have been disturbing threats to all the Sri Lankans all over the country. Finding the Chathura B. Wickrama1, Ruwan D. main variables associated with crimes are very vital for policymakers. Our main goal in 2 2 this study is to forecast of homicides, rapes and counterfeiting currency from 2013 to 2020 Nawarathna , Lakshika S. Nawarathna 1Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri using auto-regressive conditional Poisson (ACP) and auto-regressive integrated moving Lanka average (ARIMA) models. All the predictions are made assuming that the prevailing 2Department of Statistics and Computer Science, University of conditions in the country affecting crime rates remain unchanged during the period. Peradeniya, Sri Lanka Moreover, multiple linear regression and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis were used to identify the key variables associated with crimes. Correspondence: Lakshika S. Nawarathna, Department of Profiling of districts as safe or unsafe was performed based on the overall total crime rate Statistics and Computer Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri of Sri Lanka which is to compare with individual district’s crime rates. Data were collected Lanka, Tel +940767552223, Email from the Department of Police and Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. It is observed that there are 14 safe and 11 unsafe districts in Sri Lanka. Moreover, it is found Received: November 03, 2020 | Published: December 31, that the total migrant population and percentage of urban population is positively correlated 2020 with total crime.
    [Show full text]
  • 12 Manogaran.Pdf
    Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka National Capilal District Boundarl3S * Province Boundaries Q 10 20 30 010;1)304050 Sri Lanka • Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka CHELVADURAIMANOGARAN MW~1 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS • HONOLULU - © 1987 University ofHawaii Press All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Manogaran, Chelvadurai, 1935- Ethnic conflict and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Sri Lanka-Politics and government. 2. Sri Lanka -Ethnic relations. 3. Tamils-Sri Lanka-Politics and government. I. Title. DS489.8.M36 1987 954.9'303 87-16247 ISBN 0-8248-1116-X • The prosperity ofa nation does not descend from the sky. Nor does it emerge from its own accord from the earth. It depends upon the conduct ofthe people that constitute the nation. We must recognize that the country does not mean just the lifeless soil around us. The country consists ofa conglomeration ofpeople and it is what they make ofit. To rectify the world and put it on proper path, we have to first rec­ tify ourselves and our conduct.... At the present time, when we see all over the country confusion, fear and anxiety, each one in every home must con­ ., tribute his share ofcool, calm love to suppress the anger and fury. No governmental authority can sup­ press it as effectively and as quickly as you can by love and brotherliness. SATHYA SAl BABA - • Contents List ofTables IX List ofFigures Xl Preface X111 Introduction 1 CHAPTER I Sinhalese-Tamil
    [Show full text]
  • The Preparatory Survey on Water Sector Development Project Iii in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
    National Water Supply and Drainage Board The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka THE PREPARATORY SURVEY ON WATER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT III IN THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA FINAL REPORT VOLUME I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY May 2015 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Nihon Suido Consultants Co., Ltd. 4R JR (先) 15-031 EXCHANGE RATE Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Data as of December 2014) USD 1 ＝ LKR 131.02 USD 1 ＝ JPY 119.37 JPY 1 ＝ LKR 1.0976 LOCATION MAP OF THE SURVEY AREA ~ OUTLINE ~ 1. INTRODUCTION The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is planning to implement a project (Water Sector Development Project III, hereinafter referred to as the “Project”) for the extension of the existing the Kalu Ganga Water Supply System in Colombo and Kalutara District where rapid urbanization is in progress, and for the rehabilitation of the transmission mains and distribution networks in Dehiwala and Moratuwa, where the ratio of NRW is particularly high, with an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan from the Government of Japan (GOJ). GOSL requested the implementation of a Preparatory Survey on the Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Survey”) to GOJ. The Survey is required to decide whether this Project, as requested, satisfies the evaluation criteria (on such issues as outline including the objectives, scope and cost of the Project, organizational structure for project implementation and environmental and social considerations) required for the disbursement of an ODA loan from GOJ. The Survey has been conducted between September 2014 and April 2015. 2. EXISTING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM Currently, service conditions of covered areas mainly supplied by the existing Kandana Water Treatment Plant and transmission and distribution system with a capacity of 60,000 m3/day is generally good.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Kalutara
    POST -TSUNAMI HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION KALUTARA DISTRICT , SRI LANKA Final Report & Lessons Learnt Belgian Red Cross – French Speaking Community June 2009 The Belgian Red Cross-French speaking community addresses a special thank to Lily Ryan Collins for her kind contribution to the document. Lily Ryan Collins worked in Sri Lanka as a Community Infrastructure/Construction Delegate from September 2008 until June 2009. Belgian Red Cross-French speaking community Post-Tsunami Housing Reconstruction. Kalutara District, Sri Lanka. Final Report & Lessons Learnt 1/56 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................7 1.1 THE DISASTER ..................................................................................................................7 1.2 THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE ........................................................................................7 1.3 THE BELGIAN RED CROSS RESPONSE ...............................................................................7 1.4 THE CONTEXT OF RELIEF AND RECOVERY ..........................................................................9 1.5 THE STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT .....................................................................................9 2 BELGIAN RED CROSS RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT...................................................10 2.1 OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................10 2.2 CONTEXT
    [Show full text]
  • Sri Lanka – Seeduwa – Gampaha – Squatters – UNP – PA – Political Violence – Police – State Protection – Western Province Elections
    Refugee Review Tribunal AUSTRALIA RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE Research Response Number: LKA35652 Country: Sri Lanka Date: 11 November 2009 Keywords: Sri Lanka – Seeduwa – Gampaha – Squatters – UNP – PA – Political violence – Police – State protection – Western Province elections This response was prepared by the Research & Information Services Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. This research response may not, under any circumstance, be cited in a decision or any other document. Anyone wishing to use this information may only cite the primary source material contained herein. Questions 1. What do we know about the PA using a strategy of instigating/encouraging/protecting illegal occupation of the land of UNP supporters, particularly in the region around Seeduwa? 2. If so, for how long have such strategies been utilised? 3. Deleted. 4. What information is available regarding action being taken by the PA against UNP supporters and organisers in the Seeduwa region? 5. What information is available regarding the effectiveness and impartiality of the police force in dealing with complaints such as these, and the availability of state protection generally, particularly in the Seeduwa region? 6. What information is available regarding the particular party in power in Seeduwa and the names and details of the key political figures in this area, including the results of the most recent election in this area. 7. What is the extent (if any) to which recent elections in the Seeduwa region were marred by inter-party violence between the UNP and PA? RESPONSE 1.
    [Show full text]